Dream Interpretation: What Does it Mean When You Dream You Can’t Reach Something?

A Frustrating Dream That’s Actually Telling You Something

What does it mean when you dream that you keep trying to get something but can’t quite reach it? I have had several dreams like this. In the first one, I needed to get on the other side of a fence for some reason (I think something was chasing me). All I knew was I had to get to the other side of the fence, but when I ran toward it, it kept moving away. The further I ran, the more it moved away from me. I couldn’t reach it and actually felt the frustration from this dream all day long the next day.

Another dream was similar. I was at someone’s wedding, putting floating candles in a pond. It was a stupid dream, really. I don’t know anyone getting married and I don’t care about floating candles. I’m a guy who loves football, baseball, hockey, and NBA games, I don’t care about candles or weddings! Anyway, one of my candles (can’t believe I’m even typing these words) blew out and I needed to get it back to me to re-light it. No matter which side I approached it from, I couldn’t reach it!

One more dream. I was playing cards with a friend and dropped one of my cards. Even though it was on the floor.. you guessed it… I couldn’t reach it.

What do these frustrating dreams mean and how can I make them stop?

I actually feel frustrated for you – just reading about your dreams. I can imagine how you must feel! Dreams like this often “build upon” one another because we’ll be thinking a lot about the last dream – even using descriptive words like “frustrating,” “recurring,” etc. We sort of invite these annoying dreams to keep coming around merely by thinking about them.

Problem is, how can we not?!

Frustrating dreams always have a message behind them – even if it’s a small one. The original frustrating dream could have been prompted by a number of things:

A win that was “just out of reach” – either a sport you were playing, yourself, or a favorite team’s frustrating loss.

A goal that you’re shooting for that always seems just out of reach. The frustration from trying to lose weight, kick a habit, work out, etc can spill into our dreams. The frustration we feel while we’re awake finds us while we’re asleep!

An issue at work or school that’s frustrating can also “show up” disguised as something else in your dreams.

Each thing in your dream that was “out of reach” represents something in your “real world” that seems out of reach. Once you realize what this thing is, you can (and should) put together a “can’t miss” plan for reaching your goal. This, obviously, only relates to things within your control. If you’re frustration stems from, say, your favorite baseball team’s losses there’s nothing you can do about that… short of picking a new favorite team.

Very often, simply realizing what the dreams are trying to tell you will cause them to think, “My job here is done.” Then, mercifully, you’ll be rid of them.